Carlos Bocanegra once again played a full 90 for St. Etienne in their 1-1 draw with AS Monaco

AS St. Etienne 1 – AS Monaco 1

St. Etienne had to settle for a tie that felt like a loss on Sunday, watching their position in the standings slip a notch to ninth.

Defender Carlos Bocanegra minded the backline for another full ninety as a starter, his 28th complete game this season.

Dimitri Payet ignited the home crowd with a pristine volley in the 11th minute to give the Stephanois the early lead. From the right flank Emmanuel Riviere fired a low cross into the box that Payet eyed and one-timed from the top of the box over the Monégasque captain and keeper Stéphane Ruffier for the 1-0 advantage.

Honduran international Georgie Welcome equalized for the Red and White at the half-hour mark with a fortunate header. Off a Laurent Bonnart delivery from the right side, Welcome met in the air with Stephanois keeper Jérémie Janot, and managed to deflect the pass of the back of his shoulder into the empty net for the 1-1 eventual final scoreline.

Having already seen yellow in the 26th minute, 18-year-old Monaco defender Layvin Kurzawa saw his second at the hour mark after a reckless challenge on Payet.

Although reduced to ten men, Monaco held on for the point that advances them to 14th, instead of 17th.

St. Etienne now sit in ninth with 45 points and regroup on Tuesday May 10th to face league leaders LOSC Lille.

Notes:

Quinten Westberg was an unused subsitute for Ligue 2's first place team Evian on Monday for their 3-0 victory over Le Mans